Eyeglasses are of course well known. The typical pair of eyeglasses includes a frame retaining left and right corrective lenses, and left and right temple members (also simply called “temples”), joined at proximal ends thereof to the frame at respective hinges permitting the temple members to be moved between the open position, in which the distal ends of the temple members fit over the wearer's ears, and the closed position, in which the temple members are folded approximately parallel to the frame, for convenient storage. Conventional hinges may be metallic or molded of plastic, and may be integral with the either or both of the frame and temple members, or may be assembled thereto.
The hinges of eyeglasses are susceptible to being broken by rough handling, so that it would be desirable to provide some resilience in the hinge structure. It is known to provide spring-loaded hinges, reducing this problem to some extent, but such hinge structures are rather expensive. Further, in general it is not possible to interchange the temple members, as might be desired for purposes of fashion or utility, for example to exchange normal temple members with ones including a retaining strap passing around the wearer's head so as to avoid the glasses becoming lost, e.g., during sports activities.
Prior art located in a search includes U.S. Pat. No. 5,410,374 to Smith, which shows several embodiments of eyeglasses employing flexible members, which may be made of rubber or the like to retain the temple member to the frame while allowing pivoting. An O-ring is specifically shown; see FIG. 4 (f) of U.S. Pat. No. 5,410,374. However, the specific design does not appear to allow convenient removal of the temple members from the glasses.
Less relevant are U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,178 to Leonardi, which shows sports glasses wherein a resilient member is employed to connect a strap to the frame of the glasses; U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,733 to Krume, which shows a snap-fit connection of temple members to frame; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,408,924 to Huebner, which simply shows use of an O-ring to retain parts in a motorcycle fork assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,495 to Williams shows a resilient member as part of an eyeglass hinge. U.S. Pat. No. 6,751,811 to Hill shows an elastomeric tensile member as part of an eyeglass assembly. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2011/0116898 of Malavasi shows a molded fastener for securing lenses to frames.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2014/0071396 of Kuo shows a T-shaped member on the temple member received in a recess on the frame by a snap-fit action, to allow pivoting of the temple members with respect to the frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,690,786 to Weid shows a snap-fit connection of temple members to a frame that includes a split member having two recesses to receive posts. However, the pivoting function is provided by a separate hinge structure.
Also located was U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,209 to Ohba, which shows a hinge for glasses that includes a U-shaped wire member that is fixed to the temple member. The ends of the wire fit into shaped recesses in the frame. The wire is deformed to allow pivoting between bi-stable open and closed positions. U.S. Pat. No. 5,847,801 to Matsunaga is generally similar. U.S. Pat. No. 7,264,349 to Ku shows a temple member having a T-shaped member received in a block having a slot allowing the temple member to be pivoted.
All of the U.S. patents and patent applications mentioned in this disclosure are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.
There remains a need for an improved mechanism for detachably attaching temple members to the lens frame in eyeglasses.